"Wang Xu, the stuff you wanted is here."
Accompanied by billowing black smoke, a modified agricultural tricycle chugged and sputtered its way halfway up the mountain, coming to a stop in front of a small mountain cabin.
Before long, a young man walked out of the cabin. He looked to be in his early twenties, with a smile on his face, though a closer look revealed a hint of ferocity.
This ferocity wasn't because he was unattractive; on the contrary, he was actually quite handsome. It was just that the look in his eyes and the set of his features felt sharp, giving off the vibe of a villainous actor one might see on TV.
"Wang Xu, have you really made up your mind to stay in your hometown and deal with these few acres of fruit trees? Why not follow everyone else's lead and go develop yourself in the city?" Seeing the young man come out, the man driving the tricycle took the initiative to walk over and greet him.
Wang Xu handed over two cigarettes. After both of them had lit up, he took two deep drags, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and shook his head. "Brother Zhou, I didn't even graduate from high school. Going to the city would just mean a life of busing tables, sweeping floors, and taking orders from others. I'd rather stay in my hometown and live a carefree life looking after a few acres of orchard."
"In recent years, I haven't heard of anyone getting rich off an orchard. Orchards are hard to manage these days!" Brother Zhou spoke bluntly, but his expression was earnest, not mocking.
Wang Xu knew this as well. Brother Zhou's name was Zhou Qiang. He didn't have any great skills, but he was very popular among the surrounding villages.
The younger generation called him Brother Zhou, and the older ones called him Qiangzi. He was recognized as a good man. He usually sold vegetables in the city and often helped the villagers bring things back; he was a warm-hearted person.
Wang Xu had planned to get a security door to install in the cabin of his mountain orchard. When Zhou Qiang heard about it, he volunteered to help, saving Wang Xu over a hundred yuan in shipping costs. He wouldn't even stay for a meal. Wang Xu remembered this favor.
"Brother Zhou, I'm a man of little talent. I'm satisfied as long as I have food to eat. I can't think about places too far away, and I don't dare to!" Wang Xu said with a smile, his tone tinged with self-deprecation.
Zhou Qiang sighed and said nothing more. He patted Wang Xu on the shoulder, told him to work hard, and left.
Wang Xu watched him go until the tricycle disappeared from sight. Only then did he appear slightly dejected, muttering to himself, "I want to get ahead too. I want to live a glorious life. But I have no degree and no skills, just a fierce face. Am I supposed to go act in movies?"
The idea of acting in movies was even more unrealistic, far harder than making a fortune as a fruit farmer. Hengdian was not lacking in character actors; what it lacked was connections.
Wang Xu's ancestors had been poor farmers for eight generations. Forget bribing a director; he couldn't even afford the travel expenses to go to Hengdian right now.
Shaking his head, Wang Xu picked up the security door from the ground and walked toward the cabin without looking back. As he reached the door, he glanced at the sky and whispered, "Looks like it's going to rain..."
...CRACK... August weather was like a child's face, changing in an instant.
Fierce winds rose and a torrential downpour arrived; the entire transformation took less than half an hour.
Wang Xu's mountain cabin had been left behind by the previous orchard lessee. The windows had been broken by unruly kids, and the door was missing.
As soon as the wind and rain came, bean-sized raindrops used the wind's momentum to barge recklessly into the room.
Wang Xu looked at his newly purchased security door. Well, no point waiting for someone to install it. If he didn't put it up himself today, he'd probably be sleeping in a shower tonight.
RUMBLE!!
Amidst the rolling thunder, Wang Xu grabbed his tools and started working, grumbling quietly as he did.
The sky was thick with dark clouds, and thunder struck one after another. The flashes of lightning and rolls of thunder were quite a sight.
Just as Wang Xu was muttering to himself about whether installing a security door on a mountain during a thunderstorm would get him struck dead by the God of Thunder, a bolt of blue lightning arrived in an instant.
BOOM!
The blue lightning bolt was as thick as a bucket. The moment it hit the security door, it sent Wang Xu flying.
He landed on his buttocks. It didn't hurt, it didn't itch; he seemed to be fine.
Just as Wang Xu was about to feel lucky, he looked up and saw streaks of blue lightning flowing continuously over his security door, as if it were about to transcend and ascend to immortality at any moment.
"No way, has my security door become an immortal?" Looking at the radiance on the door, Wang Xu rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Under his wide-eyed gaze, the lock on the security door opened automatically. The space behind the door rippled like water, revealing a unique scene from the era of the War of Resistance that one would only see in old photographs.
"What's happening?"
Separated by a single door, he was actually seeing two different worlds. Wang Xu was dumbstruck.
Behind the door, it was clearly that special period. Slogans supporting the War of Resistance were posted everywhere.
On the street, many students dressed in old-style clothing were waving Junior Standard Bearers, shouting slogans to down with Japanese militarism.
He also sharply noticed several people who looked like reporters following the crowd and taking photos, speaking in authentic Tianjin accents.
What made Wang Xu's imagination run wild was that although he could see these people, they couldn't see him.
After a while, the protesting student group moved away, and the street returned to calm. From beginning to end, no one glanced his way, as if he didn't exist at all.
"What is this, a space-time tunnel?" As a fine young man of the 21st century, Wang Xu believed in science.
But his own security door, after being struck by lightning, had actually produced something as unscientific as a space-time tunnel, causing his faith in science to waver.
Should I go over and take a look? That was Wang Xu's first thought.
As a man, who hasn't had fantasies of picking up a gun to defend the motherland and eliminate the Japanese invaders?
However, this thought came and went just as quickly. Ultimately, Wang Xu was just an ordinary person. He had some unrealistic fantasies, but he valued his own safety more.
Taking a deep breath, Wang Xu picked up a branch and poked the open security door.
With a light touch, the security door closed in response, and the other world vanished without a trace.
At this time, it was still thundering and raining outside, and the wind was howling, as if everything before had been a dream.
Wang Xu swallowed hard. Looking at the security door in front of him, he muttered to himself, half in avoidance and half in self-consolation, "An illusion, it must be an illusion!"
That night, lying in bed, Wang Xu couldn't fall asleep no matter what. His mind was filled with the marching students and the slogans supporting the War of Resistance.
He tossed and turned until the middle of the night. The sound of the thunderstorm had faded, but he still had no desire to sleep.
There was always an inaudible voice tempting him, telling him he should go see what was on the other side of the door, or he would surely regret it.
After turning over and over, the idea of going to take another look finally gained the upper hand.
Wang Xu climbed out of bed, gulped down several mouthfuls of cold water, and walked to the security door, which was no longer glowing.
He reached out, gripped the door handle, and gave it a hard twist... CLICK... The door opened easily, and the scene of the other space-time appeared before Wang Xu's eyes once again.
It was still that same street, still those same slogans, but the time was different.
When he opened the door last time, although Wang Xu hadn't paid close attention, recalling it now, it seemed like it was around noon.
But now, the sun was setting. Although it wasn't night yet, the scorching midday sun was gone.
"If I go over like this, will I be able to come back?" He wanted to go in and see, but when it came down to it, he still had misgivings.
Moreover, rushing over like this without any preparation always felt a bit unsettling.
Wang Xu thought it over and felt he still needed to prepare. Perhaps he should use some chicks or ducklings to test the way first. If this space-time tunnel was dangerous, he'd have no one to blame but himself.